The Bull from the Sea

The word "tragedy" is bandied about so much nowadays that it has become devalued. Any death, accident, or painful occurrence is routinely labeled "tragic". But if you want to understand the true meaning of tragedy, read this book! Theseus is a hero - a difficult idea for modern people to accept, in our prosaic times - and Mary Renault does a brilliant job of showing us his heroism, rather than just telling us about it. When... Read Full Review

First, let me take a moment to explain what this book is . . . and what it is not. Many people like historical fiction. To me, that genre means creating a modern novel that is set in an earlier historical period. It may or not not include well-known historical characters. The Bull from the Sea is not, by this definition, historical fiction. In fact, if you like historial fiction a lot, you may not like this book. Instead,... Read Full Review

They really must have people who review these books declare their age. This is without a doubt one of the greatest books I have ever read. I highly recommend it for anyone with an IQ over 120, or five years out of puberty. It is not a book that should be force fed to students in High School. It is such a shame they force feed books to us, isn't it? I remember having Huckleberry Finn shoved down my throat. I hated... Read Full Review

This is a wonderful book that got me started reading Mary Renault's novels. In fact I am on my fifth one, and I still find them spellbinding. Two things really stick with me from "The Bull from the Sea": the exciting love story between Theseus and Hippolyta and the sensitive and respectful way that Renault treats the life of these characters within their ancient religion.